Friday, March 26, 2010

"The reality of obedience has been anathematized"

So says Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison, WI, in reference to the current global crisis in the Catholic church around child sexual abuse.

Interesting idea -- in our modern world, everything is relative, so obedience to any authority runs counter to relativism. And if people cannot submit to authority, then they have no business blaming those they don't obey in the first place when things go wrong.

So if Catholics don't submit totally to the authority of the pope, then they have no right to blame the pope for not dealing adequately with the crisis? That's sort of like saying, "Hey, you didn't vote, so you have no right to criticize."

Total obedience begets complacency. And there are plenty of Catholics who believe in papal infallibility (or did till now). That's what makes this crisis all the more compelling -- it reaches across all levels of church relationships.

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